Changes to design are an everyday task for many people involved in a software project. Refactoring recognizes this reality and systematizes the distinct process of modifying design and structure without affecting the external behavior of the system. As you consider the benefits of refactoring, you will need this complete guide to steer you through the process of refactoring your code for optimum results.

This book will show you how to make your code base more maintainable by detailing various refactorings. Visual Studio includes some basic refactorings that can be used independently or in conjunction to make complex refactorings easier and more approachable. This book will discuss large-scale code management, which typically calls for refactoring. To do this, we will use enterprise editions of Visual Studio, which incorporate features like Application Performance Explorer and Visual Studio Analyzer. These features make it simple to handle code and prove helpful for refactoring quickly.

This book introduces you to improving a software system's design through refactoring. It begins with simple refactoring and works its way through complex refactoring. You will learn how to change the design of your software system and how to prioritize refactorings--including how to use various Visual Studio features to focus and prioritize design changes. The book also covers how to ensure quality in the light of seemingly drastic changes to a software system. You will also be able to apply standard established principles and patterns as part of the refactoring effort with the help of this book. You will be able to support your evolving code base by refactoring architectural behavior. As an end result, you will have an adaptable system with improved code readability, maintainability, and navigability.

Refactor Visual Studio solutions to make them more maintainable

What you will learn from this book

• Improve code readability by applying effective concepts and techniques
• Spot discrepancies in code with code smells
• Catch and eliminate dead code and learn several such smart methods
• Make changes to your code without introducing adverse side-effects with code maintainability
• Learn smart ways to improve code navigability
• Improve your design by applying design principles and methodologies
• Enhance the maintainability of your code base by refactoring it to be more cohesive and less coupled
• Obtain an optimal level of flexibility by refactoring your code to a loosely-coupled design
• Minimize the side effects and support changes to your code by refactoring to a layered architecture
• Support your evolving code base by refactoring architectural behavior
• Back up the refactoring effort by ensuring quality with Unit Testing

Approach

This book focuses on real-world, easy-to-understand examples of code in a one-on-one style. Refactoring examples are performed and reasons why this refactoring should be applied are detailed. The book is structured from less advanced topics to more advanced topics; but is designed so that reading from beginning to end is not necessary.

Who this book is written for

This book is primarily for developers who want to refactor their code in Visual Studio. However, the book can be used by anyone using Visual Studio. Developers, designers, and architects who are eager to improve the performance of their craft will find this book useful because it details refactoring existing code to use recognized and established patterns and principles to improve code structure and architectural behavior.

The book assumes that the reader knows both Visual Studio and C#, but no previous knowledge of refactoring is required.